Plot Ratios May Change In Certain Local Conditions: Mah

Source : The Business Times, April 5, 2008

WILL plot ratios go up in the draft Master Plan 2008?

‘There will be changes in certain places to reflect certain local situations, local conditions,’ National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday without elaborating.

But there will ‘not be a major review across-the-board’ of plot ratios for the draft Master Plan 2008, he said. Plot ratio is the ratio of maximum gross floor area (GFA) to site area, so the higher a site’s plot ratio, the more the GFA that can be built on it.

The draft Master Plan 2008 is expected to be unveiled in late May and exhibited for a month for public feedback before being finalised and gazetted by the year-end.

Mr Mah last year ruled out massive, across-the-board islandwide increases in plot ratios for Master Plan 2008 to cope with a long-term population planning parameter of 6.5 million. Yesterday, he said: ‘We will do our Master Plan review every five years. As we go forward, as the situation changes, we will make the appropriate decision then.’

A study by Jones Lang LaSalle published by BT earlier this year said undeveloped state sites within walking distance of Circle Line MRT stations, particularly those that intersect with existing MRT lines, will be among the top candidates for higher plot ratios in Master Plan 2008.

The study highlighted areas near Paya Lebar MRT Station and Buona Vista MRT Station, where the Circle Line will intersect with the existing East-West Line, and HarbourFront MRT, where the Circle Line crosses the North-East Line.